Free Two Day Course in Stafford – June 8th and 9th 2019
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Monthly Archives: April 2019
Penny Brohn Living Well:- upcoming events
Penny Brohn’s ‘Introduction to Living Well’ – morning session in Hanley 29 May 2019 for people living with a diagnosis of cancer
Penny Brohn UK’s courses and sessions are available to anyone over 18 who has a diagnosis of cancer and their close supporter.
The Introduction to Living Well half-day event gives people an opportunity to find out more about how to support their own health and wellbeing and experience simple relaxation techniques.
Dates and location of the FREE half-day, morning session:
| Wednesday | 29/05/2019 | Introduction to Living Well | 10am – 1pm
(arrive 10.45 am for 10 am start…) |
Hanley Community Fire Station, Lower Bethesda Street,
Stoke on Trent ST1 3RP |
Web-links for courses:
https://www.pennybrohn.org.uk/event/introduction-to-living-well-2/
People can self-refer and book onto the event by contacting our Bookings team:
T: 0303 3000 118
Or via our website
https://www.pennybrohn.org.uk/event/introduction-to-living-well-2/
Penny Brohn UK are working together with local partners to offer Living Well services throughout the Midlands. If you would like to know more about Penny Brohn Services and the Bristol Whole Life Approach, or if you are interested in working in partnership with us, please get in touch
Diane Leopard: Focus on Emotions
We had a special presentation by Diane last year where she took us on her very personal journey via a series of photographs. These have now been published online, along with other details including a video introduction by Diane herself. Here are links to some of the images from the Focus on Emotions collection:
https://www.babababoon.co.uk/diane-leopard-the-emotional-impact-of-cancer-through-images/
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/breast-cancer-survivor-puts-illness-1545307
We’ve also added a permanent Menu item for her poem ‘YOU’. This poem was entered in a national poetry competition, and although it didn’t win prizes, it will resonate with anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Speech after treatment and Tongue Stimulation Therapy
We discussed a new idea at our April meeting. The Speech Therapists brought this to our attention and Amy is attending the May meeting to give further information.
In essence we can obtain some new equipment, unaffordable by the NHS that helps a patient to regain more tongue function after surgery or other treatment. The equipment comes in two parts. One part is retained at the hospital, and used to begin the Therapy and train the patient in its use. The second part goes home with the patient, and is used for as long as required to get a benefit with speaking and eating. The equipment costs several thousand pounds, but in a show of hands at the meeting a large majority were in favour of going ahead with the purchase. We look forward to hearing the details, and starting the ball rolling on this proposal.
James Bisson, Senior Practitioner, Radiotherapy at UHNM recently shared this You Tube video. In the video, a patient, previously a professional singer sings ‘Amazing Grace’. Her tongue had been rebuilt from bone and muscle from her leg following tongue cancer surgery. I’ll let this woman’s courage speak for itself….
May Meeting: Visit by Diabetes UK
We are pleased to announce Fred has secured a visit by Diabetes UK for the May meeting on Wed 1st May. Click on the above logo to visit their site and get a preview of their activities
Speech Synthesis: When talking is impossible
We had previously discussed this in the February and March meetings. During head and neck treatment it can become impossible to speak. It’s always an option to use bits of paper, but far better to use ‘text to speech’ software running on a tablet or phone. This has the benefit of storing often used phrases, and is also possible to use in a telephone conversation.
We agreed in the April meeting to go ahead and purchase a quantity of small sized tablets, and set them up with the necessary software to make them ready to use. Not everyone owns or is conversant with smartphones so this idea has many benefits.
Once the tablets are ready to go, it’s intended that the Specialist Nurses are able to dispense them as needed to affected patients to take home and use for as long as needed. I’ll update this story as the plan is put into effect.
LED Flashlight Keyrings
We have purchased 75 of these mini-torch keyrings in various colours. Each one is engraved with the Headcases web address. We began selling them at the March meeting at £2.00 each and at the time of writing we’ve almost sold out and need another batch! The April meeting raised around £50.00 on the spot and we agreed to get more pens, and more torches due to the popularity of both items. [ quick footnote – 75 more torches now on order ]
Mouth Cancer Foundation Awards 2019
After our success in 2017, we have been invited once again to submit an application on behalf of Headcases. Fred and myself put together our application which was returned and acknowledged before the due date at the end of March. We’ll have to wait till June to see how it went.
- Gold award £1500
- Silver award £1000
- Bronze award £500